Rate rebate needed!

A disgruntled ratepayer has accused Bass Coast Shire Council of ignoring the economic hardship faced by residents and holiday homeowners.

Ricardo Cusolito said he believes the council should be offering a rebate to everyone in Bass Coast. But his attempts to communicate with the council have fallen on deaf ears.

A long-time visitor to the island, Ricardo bought a house in Silverleaves four years ago and is frustrated that the council is not prepared to listen to his concerns.

“I contacted the council and I wrote to the Mayor, but he won’t return my call,” said Ricardo.

“I have a house on Phillip Island that I haven’t been able to use for four months because of the government restrictions.”

He said the council or the state government should offer a rebate.

“The Mayor won’t return my call and he won’t look into it. He should be putting the pressure on. He should be communicating and chasing it up and trying to help the community.”

He said many holiday homeowners are in the same position – paying for services such as rubbish collection which they can’t use – and they deserve a rebate. He believes local residents deserve a rebate as well.

“This is a real topic for everyone in Bass Coast. They’re all struggling. The right thing is to look into it and give people a rebate and talk to the government about the issue.”

Ricardo said instead of being able to discuss his concerns with the Mayor, he was “handballed” to someone in the finance department.

“If I have a problem with my business, I talk to the person, I don’t handball it to one of my workers.”

He said the council officer told him he “could defer and pay the rates later on, and that a lot of people were doing that”.

“But in a year’s time, if people haven’t got a job, where are they going to get the money from? They (council) don’t want to do anything about it,” Ricardo continued.

“If they did, they’d go and discuss it with the government and push the issue. They’re not looking at the big picture – they’re just looking at their own pockets.”

Ricardo also claimed that he was told by Bass Coast Shire Council it was the state government who decided that councils would not offer rebates.

However he said Monash Council was offering a 10 per cent discount to ratepayers.

On top of that, his home in Mulgrave is worth three times the amount of his Phillip Island house, yet he pays $700 more in rates to Bass Coast Shire Council.

“They can’t justify that. I’m starting to get sick of people in council not doing the right thing.”

A spokesperson for Bass Coast Shire Council said: “Council been in contact with Mr Cusolito in regards to this matter. Due to the election period (caretaker) we are unable to provide any further comments on this issue at this time.”

In May, Bass Coast Shire Council adopted a Covid-19 Financial Hardship Policy, to “assist ratepayers who have been impacted by Covid-19 pandemic and are experiencing financial hardship”.

The policy allows for payment arrangements and deferment of rates payments and states “where possible the applicant will be provided with short term assistance to meet their financial commitments.”

The Local Government Act 1989, Section 171 (1) and (2), does allow for councils to waive the whole or part of any rate charge for an eligible recipient or “any other class of persons” on the grounds of financial hardship. A resolution of council is needed for the second option.